Am I Too Old For Music?

Sometimes I think the subject for today is what all this writing is about.

The question that keeps going through my mind, the one that causes me to second guess myself is this. “Am I too old to experience success in the music business?” Or maybe I should say, “Am I too old to experience success as a musician?”

Why do I ask myself that question?

I have been experiencing something that I have never experienced before. I can’t find a band.

I know that I have written about this before and in my self indulgence I am going to write about it again.

In yesteryears when I wanted to be in a band I was in one.

Anytime I came back to my hometown, within a week or two I would have a call and an offer to join a band.

Now I come across ads but most of them want metal drummers. That I am not. I know I could pick it up but I am looking to save my ears and I know I would not be happy playing it all night long.

Some of you may say well maybe you just suck as a drummer. Fair enough but I know that is not the case.

I realize my current location isn’t the best place to find a band, but sometimes I really wonder how much age has to do with it.

I have had correspondence with a couple of bands and it seems that when it gets to the age thing the whole conversation dies.

There have been bands I’ve audition for that I really wasn’t all that interest in joining due to travel distance, their quality of music and/or lack of paying gigs. But I can tell when I walk in they expected someone younger.

Every band that I watch on television or on line is young. I’m talking musicians in their twenties and thirties. You never watch a show or read an article about a bunch of old musicians in their fifties and sixties and their new debut album. The only old dudes are the rock and roll heavyweights. The ones that I worshipped growing up.

Is my age a drawback, a hindrance?

Will or do people think I can’t keep up?

Do they think all that he’ll want to play is classic seventies rock?

Do they think that all your creativity and passion disappear as you get older?

Yes I am ready to retire from the 8 to 5 working stiff world but my passion and energy for creating increases every day. And yet I do have to fight these doubts.

I really don’t want to be playing in just any band just to be playing out. That makes it a job, I already have one of those.

Open mics are not very fulfilling since the talent level is usually sub par but maybe I should just suck it up and do some more of those venues.

I guess the question isn’t do I think I’m too old, I think my life experiences give me an advantag. The question is does the music business think I’m too old.